Gretchen’s up next with a Whole Cloth Quilt tutorial. You’re going to love it! First enjoy a peek around Gretchen’s Eight Thousand Pounds Over the Sea where you can learn more about her family’s travels in Europe (and more about her creative adventures too!).

Guten Tag! I’m Gretchen, an American temporarily living in western Germany.

I first started sewing during college. Although I had played around with my mom’s sewing machine, when I met friends in college who knew how to sew– and even some who brought sewing machines with them to college!– I was inspired to learn myself.

I’ve made the whole cloth quilt I’m going to share with you next at least 20 times. I think it is the perfect baby gift: handcrafted but durable enough to be used. And it is easy enough that I can make it in a few hours if I’ve forgotten to buy a gift for a shower.

Besides sewing, I enjoy exploring Europe. I also dabble in knitting, running, baking, blogging at Eight Thousand Pounds Over the Sea and am constantly agreeing to volunteer for a myriad of organizations.

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We always travel with handmade bags. We have vintage embroidery framed on our walls, piles of fabric next to the sewing machine and more WIPs than we'll ever finish. We love the history, craft and artistry of sewing. Read More

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